


Facing, Confronting, Branding Each Other

by robindrake93



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asphyxiation, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Book 2: The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson), Branding, Crying, Crying Percy Jackson, Dubious Consent, First Time, Happy Ending, Just the Tip, Loss of Virginity, Luke Castellan Has Scars, M/M, Minor Annabeth Chase/Thalia Grace, One Shot, POV First Person, Rimming, Scars, Sharing a Bed, Underage Sex, pillow humping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 08:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26969056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93
Summary: Twelve hours trapped in a room together changes everything for both Luke and Percy.
Relationships: Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832509
Comments: 2
Kudos: 137





	Facing, Confronting, Branding Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> I said that I would do another fic for branding but this one honestly got out of hand. I meant to stop it after the actual event but then the words just kept coming. And here we are. Title is from the song Great Expectations by Cat Power. 
> 
> This is my 50th fic on AO3! I've officially met my 2020 writing goal. Yay!
> 
> If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.
> 
> Don't reupload/repost my fics.

“Luke, listen,” I pleaded. “Your dad sent me -” The look on Luke’s face made me immediately regret bringing up Hermes. I’d made a mistake but I didn’t get a chance to fix it. 

Almost before I knew what was happening, Luke had closed the distance between us. He curled one hand around my throat and lifted me off the ground so that he could look me in the eye. Luke was taller than me by almost two feet. His expression was twisted into a silent snarl. 

Riptide fell onto the floor. I couldn’t touch the ground. I just wasn’t tall enough. Instinctively, I curled my legs up, trying to keep my vulnerable belly protected. A whimper of fear slipped out of my throat. Before this, I’d never really realized how big Luke is. He had to be at least double my seventy-five pounds and he was solid muscle. 

The anger didn’t leave Luke’s expression as he appraised me. The seconds stretched on into minutes as he held me up, arm not even trembling with the effort, and studied me. 

I hoped that this meant he was thinking about letting me go, but the scar on my right palm was a constant reminder that to Luke, I was disposable. It was really hard to breathe. I could just barely draw in air, not enough to fill my lungs, but just enough to keep me from passing out. 

When Luke smiled, it wasn’t the kind smile from Camp or the arrogant one from a few moments ago. This smile was so cold that it turned my blood to ice. If I didn’t get him to let me go, something bad was going to happen to me. I clawed at his forearms, nails sharp enough to draw blood. 

Luke didn’t flinch. It was like I wasn’t doing anything at all. His lips parted to show off shiny white teeth. His canines were pointed and it took me a minute to realize that was because they’d been chipped or carved into needle-sharp points. 

The expression on Luke’s face made me shudder. I looked over Luke’s shoulder to Annabeth and Tyson. They were struggling to get free but it didn’t look like they were going anywhere anytime soon. I was on my own. I sank my nails even deeper, trying to leave gouges in Luke’s skin. If he even loosened his grip then I could get free. 

Irritation crossed Luke’s features as though my just looking at the others made him remember that we weren’t alone. He snapped the fingers of his free hand. “Get rid of those two. Percy and I need a little privacy. I’ve got a message for him to deliver to my father.” 

Annabeth and Tyson were manhandled out of the suite. As soon as the doors were closed, their shouts cut off. The room was soundproof, I realized. Tyson must have heard because Luke wanted him too, had left the door open just enough. We’d really walked right into this trap. And now I was going to pay for it. 

I tried to say Luke’s name, to appeal to him. But the only noise that could escape my throat was the tailend, the _uke_ part of his name and it sounded like a croak. My arms were shorter than his but I tried to claw at his face. 

Luke turned his attention back to me. A tension I hadn’t realized was there left his body, his expression. The anger still turned his eyes to blue flame but it didn’t radiate off him like it had before. He made a complicated motion with one hand and was suddenly holding a long, thin length of metal. One end glowed neon orange with heat. “Sorry about this, Percy,” Luke said as he carried me over to the couch. He pressed me into it, hand never leaving his throat.

It seemed like I finally remembered that I had legs and now I kicked out at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off the glowing hot metal. Even if Luke’s hand hadn’t been cutting off my air, I would have panicked because it looked like a branding iron. And I was pretty sure that was exactly what it was. I didn’t need to be a child of Athena to figure out what Luke intended to do with it. 

Luke pinned my legs down by straddling my thighs. He was so much bigger than I was, his body easily keeping me pinned down. “Lift your shirt up,” Luke said calmly. 

I shook my head the best I could. 

“You don’t want your shirt to melt into your skin, do you?” Luke asked, voice deceptively innocent despite his horrifying words. His anger was cooling and that was not a good thing for me. Being hot headed meant making mistakes but cold anger meant a level head. “C’mon, Percy. Be a good boy for me.” 

A wave of humiliation swept over me, leaving my skin hot and uncomfortable. I really didn’t want my shirt to melt into my skin, and I knew from experience that it would. I’d been on the lava-spewing climbing wall at Camp Half-Blood enough to know that this was seriously going to mess me up. My hands trembled as I grabbed the hem of my shirt. Slowly, I pulled it up to my ribs. 

“Higher, Percy,” Luke said patiently. The branding iron was still hot as ever. Was it magically enchanted? 

I lifted the shirt to my nipples, and then at a look from Luke, up to my throat. He wanted it well out of the way...or he was going to brand my chest. By now I was sure that he was going to brand me. All I could do was pray for intervention; divine or otherwise. 

Help didn’t come. 

Luke spun the branding iron so that the hot end pointed to me. In the brief glimpse I got before it touched my skin, I saw the symbol. Then Luke pressed it against the right side of my abdomen and I forgot everything except the all-consuming burning pain. 

I don’t know how long it was that I could only think of the pain. But eventually it tapered off. Not to say it still didn’t hurt, but the pain wasn’t mind sizzling anymore. My brain came back online enough to let me know that I was making an animal noise that sounded like a hybrid between a whine and a howl. A few seconds later, I could open my eyes again. 

Luke’s face was _very_ close to mine. His mouth was almost touching mine. No, it _was_ touching mine. Was he kissing me? No. Just brushing his lips against mine. “Almost done, Percy.” When he talked, I could taste something sweet and fermented on his breath. It tasted how champagne smelled. 

I groaned. His hand was still around my throat. My head spun. Black spots danced across my vision. I was going to pass out any second now. 

Then Luke pulled the branding iron away. He did that thing with his hand again and it disappeared. Magic, he must know magic now. Luke let go of my throat to pull my shirt over my head. 

I didn’t resist. My whole body throbbed and burned with pain. The fact that I could breathe again was a painful miracle. Tears ran down my cheeks and dripped onto my chest, onto the brand on my side. Sitting up took too much energy. I slumped over. 

“Whoa!” Luke said and caught me before my wounded side touched the couch. He eased me down the other way, so that I was laying on my left side. 

Breathing hurt. The air on my brand hurt. I closed my eyes so that I didn’t have to look at Luke or this room or my wound. It smelled like burnt flesh, which was a terrible smell no matter how many times you smelled it. 

Luke knelt next to me on the floor, still staring at my face. The gentle way he brushed my hair out of my eyes was a startling contrast to how he’d just branded me while asphyxiating me. 

It prompted me to open my eyes. But I didn’t know what to say. The tears still rolled hot down my face. I felt feverish and uncomfortable in my own skin. If I’d felt betrayed with the pit scorpion, I felt even more betrayed with this. It really cemented in the fact that I was _nothing_ to Luke. I was disposable, just an object that he could use. My tears fell harder. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even be humiliated over them. “At least Annabeth openly hates me. You’re so...sneaky about it.” 

Luke’s eyes widened in surprise. “I guess you would think that.” His gaze slid to my side. “You want some ice? Some champagne?” 

“I’m thirteen,” I reminded him. What I really wanted was some nectar and a nap. 

Luke shrugged. “You’ll be a man in two years. That’s close enough.” 

I stared at him, confused, wondering if someone had hit him in the head one too many times. Fifteen wasn’t anywhere near being a man. But even I knew when to shut my mouth so I didn’t argue. 

We stared at each other. I couldn’t help but think of when I was younger - and far more naïve - and how much I would have liked one on one time with Luke. If Luke wasn’t evil then this would have been a dream come true. 

Luke nodded as though reading my thoughts. “Yeah. Shits rough, right?”

“You’re rough,” I growled back. 

“I don’t know what Hermes was thinking, sending a puppy after me.” The corner of his mouth pinched. “Then again, there isn’t anyone else to send. All they’ve got is a camp full of puppies. With little puppy teeth.” Luke pushed my lip back with the last statement. 

It took everything in me not to snap at him. Before he branded me, I wouldn’t have hesitated to bite him. But now? Now I was still so hurt that breathing sent flares of pain through me. And Riptide was still on the floor, six feet behind Luke. The stupid sword hadn’t yet reappeared in my pocket. 

“Don’t be upset. Maybe Hermes will heal it.” Luke glanced at the brand again. “Or maybe he won’t. They’re all narcissistic and I’m sure he’d like to see his mark on Poseidon’s son.” 

“ _You_ could heal it,” I pointed out. So I’d seen correctly; it was a caduceus. Maybe if Hermes didn’t want to fix it, Poseidon would. He wouldn’t like me with another god’s symbol burned into my skin. 

“Kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think?” Luke said casually. 

Luke was annoying, I decided. I wished he would just shut up. I closed my eyes so that I didn’t have to look at him anymore. 

I didn’t mean to fall asleep but I think I must have because when I woke up, it was dark. Well, dark except for the glow of the golden coffin. I sat up and hissed through my teeth as the hot pain in my side flared up again. The first thing I did was feel my pockets but Riptide still hadn’t returned and it wasn’t on the floor anymore. 

The second most pressing issue was to find Luke. It took me a few glances around the room to actually spot him. He lay on the bed, the skin of his chest pale against his sheets. 

I couldn’t see his face. I didn’t want to get closer to check to see if he was awake or not. Instead, I rose to my feet. My head spun and my vision went black. I swayed on my feet until slowly my vision came back. Just a head rush. It wasn’t until I’d taken a few steps that I realized my feet were bare. What did he do with my shoes? I tried to be quiet as I walked toward the doors. They were the only way out; the portholes were too small for even me to fit through. 

Locked. The doors were locked. 

I could have screamed. Instead, I turned my back to the doors. If there was a key, then Luke probably had it on or near him. As far as I could tell, Luke hadn’t moved since I got up. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. Then I cautiously made my way to Luke’s bedside. 

When I realized that his eyes were open, a chill went down my spine. Luke sat up. He wore a robe of black silk and one sleeve slid down to his elbow, leaving most of his torso exposed. In the glowing golden light, I saw five shiny scars stretch across his skin. I couldn’t see where they began or where they ended. Luke’s blue eyes looked almost green. 

“The doors are locked,” I said, hoping that a direct approach would get me what I wanted. 

“It’s nice to shut out the world,” Luke said. He sounded tired. He looked like a model from Playgirl magazine. Except those scars ruined the image of the perfect sexy man. Luke rested his cheek against his bare shoulder. 

I didn’t know where to look. I could see the jut of his hip bone and was pretty sure that Luke wasn’t wearing anything under the robe. “I want to leave.” 

“Me too.” Luke sighed. I didn’t think he was talking about the yacht. 

“Where’s the key?”

Luke smiled like I’d told a joke. “You’re welcome to look for it.” Then he flopped back onto his pillows. 

I didn’t want to waste time or energy on what I was sure was a wild goose chase. I placed my hand over my ribs, a few inches above the brand but even that hurt. My palms grew sweaty as the heat washed over me. “I think you have it.”

Luke hummed noncommittally. 

Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes. I hadn’t had a drink in a long time and couldn’t afford to lose more water but I also couldn’t stop the tears. I bit my lip to stifle the sounds of my crying. 

Not that it did any good. Luke and I - and the thing in the coffin - were the only ones here. Luke sat up again. This time the other sleeve slid off his shoulder, leaving him naked to the hips. He shifted so that he knelt on the bed in front of me. The lower half of the robe, thankfully, stayed in place. Luke used the sleeves to wipe the tears from my face. Silk really wasn’t the best material for that but it felt smooth against my skin and it was nice to feel something that _didn’t_ hurt. “Sometimes you have to wait for the things you want because they aren’t as easy to get as you first think.”

Luke caught my eye and then very deliberately looked over my shoulder. 

I followed his gaze. The golden coffin was there, menacing even though it wasn’t doing anything. I think I got what Luke meant. Turning to face him again, I tapped my ear and cocked my head in question. 

Luke nodded. 

Kronos could hear us. 

The idea made my gut curl with nausea. Mentally I replayed everything that Luke had said, searching for some sort of double meanings. I always assumed that because Luke didn’t tell jokes or use sarcasm he also didn’t lie and was incapable of twisting his words or saying one thing but meaning another. 

I dropped my gaze to the brand on my side. Luke’s message to Hermes. It was odd that he’d chosen to use his father’s symbol instead of Kronos’s. What was that supposed to mean? Was he still loyal to the gods? 

_“I want to leave.”_

_“Me too.”_

Was that what Luke was trying to say? Would Hermes understand? 

Luke studied my face and slowly nodded, as though he could see my thoughts. “It isn’t time, so you might as well get comfortable.” He tugged me closer, until his mouth was almost touching mine. “Shows over, Percy. Relax.” 

I could barely hear him. Which meant that Kronos probably couldn’t hear him at all. Ah, I got it. So I climbed into bed. It was a large bed that could have easily fit three or four more people. 

Regardless, Luke drew his legs up as I made my way to his right side so that I could lay down on my left and face him. 

The sheets were silk and if I’d been feeling better, I would have rubbed myself all over them because that was how good it felt. Luke’s scent washed over me; hot candle wax and leather. For the first time, I realized that I’d smelled him the second I boarded the yacht but now his scent was concentrated and there was nothing to distract me from it. Thinking about his scent made me realize that I was in bed with a naked grown man, in a soundproofed room, trapped behind a locked door. 

Luke eased onto his side so that he was facing me. He shrugged the shoulder of his robe back into place. 

I didn’t want to get closer but even more than that, I didn’t want Kronos to hear me. So I squirmed closer to him, not touching but closer. “Where’s the key?”

“Sunrise is the key,” Luke murmured back. If he was locked in here then that explained why he didn’t bother us during the night. 

I glanced around for a clock but didn’t see one. 

“Six more hours,” Luke answered my unspoken question once I settled down again. He pressed his wrist to my forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want ice? You’re hot.” 

“Thanks,” I managed, sounding cockier than I felt. “I’m sure.” I wasn’t sure about anything. 

Luke snorted, amused. He cupped my cheek. After a moment he slid his hand down to my neck. 

I made a noise of pain. My neck was tender. I’d barely even noticed how sore my throat was. 

Luke drew his hand back but inched his entire body closer to mine. Our noses touched. “I’m sorry.” 

A pained whine slipped out. “Don’t.” I put my hand to his chest, intending on pushing him away. Maybe I didn’t want to talk after all. 

Luke must have felt the scar on my palm because he took my hand in his and kissed the scar he gave me last year. 

The tears threatened again. I would rather he be rough and mean than gentle and sweet. “I hate you.” My voice squeaked with emotion. 

Luke angled his face so that his nose brushed against my cheek and his lips brushed against mine. “I know.” 

I don’t know how it turned to kissing Luke, but it did. Luke upset me so much that my heart felt like it was breaking and I was crying again, but some instinct made me push my lips against his. Maybe because we were already technically kissing. Maybe because I didn’t want Kronos to hear me crying. 

Luke kissed me back. The way his mouth moved against mine felt good; it was a relief that this didn’t hurt. He kept his hands and his body to himself, didn’t try to touch me anywhere but his lips on mine. 

Kissing Luke felt good. I couldn’t believe that I was doing this. That he was kissing me back. Even as I kissed him, part of my brain told me that this was an incredibly stupid thing to do. Even if Luke didn’t take advantage of me - more than he already had - then I was just setting myself up for more heartbreak later on. Except...except Luke was using me to send a message to his father that he didn’t want to be here. Hope was a small flame within me and it burned blue hot. 

We mutually decided to stop kissing. I couldn’t say how we both came to that conclusion at the same time but we were suddenly pressed nose to nose again, space between our lips. 

My tears stopped falling. A headache pounded at my temples. Six hours to kill before the doors would unlock. Surely that was enough time for a nap. I yawned right in Luke’s face. 

Luke took it with good grace. “Go to sleep,” he suggested once my teeth clacked shut and there was less danger of being bitten. 

Because he suggested it, I didn’t want to. But my body had other ideas and before I knew it, I was sleeping again. You would think that being less than twenty feet away from Kronos would give me nightmares but I didn’t dream of anything at all. It made sense that I didn’t dream of Luke since he was right next to me and it would be boring watching us sleep but I’d expected something from Kronos. 

The next time I woke, Luke was asleep. For real this time. He lay beside me exactly where I’d left him and his breathing was even. 

I eased away and out of the bed. My mouth was dry and my headache was worse. I searched for water and only came up with the tap in the connected bathroom. After drinking my fill, I took advantage of the toilet and privacy and peed. Washing my hands and drinking water both helped to make me feel better and feel a little more alert. Alert enough that I finally noticed the ring of black bruises around my neck. 

The thing was, I believed Luke when he told me that the doors were locked until sunrise. So I was trapped here until then. There was no porthole in the bathroom or vent to squeeze into to try and escape. While Luke slept, I took the opportunity to search the suite for food. Surely he had a mini fridge in here. Who knew where the kitchen was in this place. 

I did in fact find a mini fridge. The cool blue light from within felt like a floodlight. I glanced at Luke but he didn’t move. Maybe he was still sleeping or maybe he didn’t care. The fridge didn’t have a lot of food in it. Some cheese, some fruit. Strawberries. I took out the carton of strawberries and opened it, wincing at how loud the plastic was in the quiet suite. I ate the berries until my hunger pangs went away, then put the carton back in the fridge. 

As I walked back to the bed, I licked my fingers clean. Bed was warm and comfortable. I hated to say that I enjoyed it but...I enjoyed it. 

Luke made a small noise when I rejoined him but he stayed where he was and didn’t open his eyes. His chest was still bare despite the robe and I could barely see the sheen of his scars. Whatever had caused them had been _massive._ What little I knew about Luke helped me to deduce that it was the hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, who had marked Luke. These weren’t new scars. 

Impulsively, I reached out and brushed my fingertips against one. It was raised slightly and had an odd texture that I couldn’t place. I swallowed nervously. Each scar I traced over until they disappeared beneath the robe. My hesitation only lasted a moment. It wasn’t like Luke’s robe was belted closed. Shifting the robe so that I could keep following the scars' progress was easy. 

The scars dipped dangerously close to Luke’s dick, only missed it by an inch. That was about the only lucky thing that could be associated with the scars. 

I traced the scar down, down between Luke’s hips. He radiated more heat here than along his torso. 

Suddenly Luke’s fingers were curled around my wrist, stopping me from crossing that narrow distance between scar and dick. “Kissing is fine, but you’re headed into more serious territory,” Luke muttered without opening his eyes.

I felt a flash of irritation that he stopped me. It’s not like I’d been intending to hurt him. I was just curious. “You _branded_ me,” I reminded him. “I’ll carry your mark on my skin forever.” I wasn’t really talking about the brand anymore. 

For a moment we both seemed to hold our breaths. Then Luke sighed. He reluctantly let go of my wrist. His eyes stayed closed. 

Now that I knew he was awake, I was more nervous. But why should that stop me? Luke didn’t care what he did to me. Why should I care what I did to him? I was nervous enough that I didn’t put my hand back on the exact track it had been going. Instead, I tracked back up to the jutting bone of one hip. The skin that dipped down was soft...until I hit scar tissue again. “Does it hurt?” 

“Sometimes.” Luke took very deliberate breaths. In...out. Even. He kept his hands tucked up under his chin. 

I trailed my fingertips along the scar, edging close to his dick again. His skin was so warm, like the fire that I felt within myself. I bypassed Luke’s dick a second time to feel the jagged end of the scar on his thigh. They were such long claw marks that it surprised me there was actually an end to them. 

Luke’s skin broke out in goosebumps and quivered beneath my touch. His carefully even breaths were less even, a little more ragged, though they followed the same in…out. 

Tracing the scar back up, I let my fingers brush against his dick. Luke wasn’t hard, which made me both relieved and disappointed. 

Luke murmured, “You’re just like Poseidon.” 

We were locked in a room for five more hours but I didn’t feel like asking him what that meant. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. And I was far more interested in what my hand was touching. The only penis I’d ever touched was my own. I ghosted my fingers along the length of it, over the scar where his foreskin was cut, to the rounded head. 

Luke inhaled shakily and exhaled the same way. His eyes squeezed shut tighter. 

As I slid my finger back and forth along the slit, I mentally compared us. Luke was longer and thicker and the texture of his skin was a little rougher. But other than those differences, it really wasn’t all that different from mine. 

Luke’s dick twitched against my fingertips. 

I was turning him on. Some part of me jumped at the thought. It never really occurred to me before that I could make someone else feel good just by touching them. My boners were pretty random. I didn’t ever _try_ to get turned on; it just seemed to happen. So this was new and exciting and a little scary. I switched from one finger to two, rubbing circles on the head. I liked how it felt; soft and warm against the pads of my fingers. 

Luke was definitely getting hard. His dick shifted as it filled out, small movements that surprised and excited me. 

The harder that Luke got, the more I realized that I liked this a lot better than when his dick was soft. The texture was slightly different now that he was erect, a little smoother, and I could feel the thick vein along the underside. I traced it along the shaft, then back up again. 

Luke moved to hide his face in his arms. He buried his face against his biceps and gripped his short hair with both hands. He was taking harsh breaths now, though obviously trying not to. It looked like his breathing exercises weren’t working.

Wetness had gathered at the slit in the head of Luke’s dick. It was kind of sticky and it made my fingers just glide across Luke’s skin. That was good. I wondered how to get him to make more of it, then tried rubbing my fingers along that vein again. Success! When I touched Luke’s slit again, there was more wetness gathered there. 

Luke let out a faint whine. The heat between us grew and swelled. His skin became hot to the touch. 

If I felt feverish and hot before, I was only more so now. Touching Luke, feeling his reactions to my touch, turned me on. My dick was stiff, pushed against the fly on my jeans. The jeans had become uncomfortable to wear. I squeezed Luke’s dick and wiggled closer to him. Moving shifted the waistband of my jeans up and for a blinding second, all I felt was pain in my side. I had to let go of Luke to tug my jeans down past my hips. 

Luke let out a sigh of relief. 

His relief didn’t last long because as soon as my jeans weren’t in the way, my hand was back on his dick. 

Luke’s breath caught. 

For all that Luke hid his eyes from me, he didn’t seem as worried about hiding his mouth; so I was able to press my lips to his. “Sunrise?” 

Luke swallowed before answering. “Four hours.” His voice was a low almost-growl. “Por todos los dioses, matame antes de me venga,” Luke prayed under his breath, lips moving against mine. 

For a moment I was shocked that Luke knew Spanish. Then I realized that he was probably pretty good with languages being the son of a traveling merchant. And I’m pretty sure that he didn’t know I speak Spanish. To be honest, I didn’t think Luke had a good chance of the gods answering his prayer. They didn’t answer mine when I prayed for an intervention of my branding. I elected to pretend that I had no idea what he was saying and pushed my lips against his to shut him up. 

Luke kissed me back with more hesitation and restraint than he’d shown earlier. Mostly he just let me do what I wanted. His uneven breathing and the wet hardness of his dick were the only acknowledgement that I was even doing anything. 

Meanwhile, I was burning up. Was this lust or some sort of infection from the brand? My jeans were uncomfortably tight. My palms were slick with, well, Luke’s slick but also with sweat. I had to get out of these jeans. They trapped the heat against my legs. I let go of Luke’s dick for a second time and shimmied out of my jeans. I had to be out of my mind. 

When Luke realized what I was doing, he groaned and rolled onto his back. He drew up his leg - the one closest to me - and threw his arm over his eyes. The robe was more or less off of him now. 

Getting my jeans off was such a relief that for a few moments I just lay there, luxuriating in how much cooler my legs felt. From the corner of my eye, I watched the rise and fall of Luke’s chest. 

Luke looked beautiful and tortured. 

I couldn’t feel pity for him, though. While I certainly hadn’t expected this to happen, I didn’t feel bad about it. At least what I did to him felt good. My side was still killing me and my throat still ached. I brushed my fingertips against his ribs.

Luke’s whole body tensed. “Gods. Fuck,” Luke hissed. He rolled over again, facing me. “What are you even doing? Do you even have a plan?” His voice was at a normal level but we’d been whispering so now it sounded like a shout. 

I flinched, reminded again that Luke was _letting_ me do what I wanted with him and he could just as easily break my hands as let me touch him. Mute, I shook my head no. 

An annoyed growl rumbled in Luke’s throat. “You can be so stupid, Percy.” He rolled on top of me and gripped my thighs hard, dragged me to him. “What if I decided I wanted to fuck you? Because you’re such a little tease.” Luke dropped to his elbows, face close to mine, boxing me in. 

My heart skipped a beat and then beat so hard it was painful. I tried to shrink into myself, instinct saying to make myself as small as possible. There wasn’t enough room to hit him and clawing at him didn’t work before. I didn’t know what to say and even if I did, I couldn’t get any words out. 

Luke looked at me for a long time. “You don’t even know how to kiss.” 

Embarrassment swept hotly through me. 

Luke poked my side, just above the burn but close enough to make me yelp. “And you’re hurt.” 

Tears sprung to my eyes _again._ I was pretty sure he couldn’t see me very well, though. Did Hermes kids have night vision? “What do you want me to say?” I choked out. 

“What are you _doing?_ ” Luke repeated, growling. My night vision was pretty good so I could see the anger in his face, in his eyes. Luke’s anger was terrifying. 

“I don’t know!” I blurted out. A tear rolled down into my ear and I squirmed. How was I going to get out of this? 

Luke rolled off of me. He sat a little ways away, his back to me. 

I sucked in a huge breath. That danger seemed to have passed...or wasn’t so immediate anymore. The worst part of it was that I was still turned on. It would be great if my body would get the message that we weren’t doing sexy things anymore. 

When Luke moved again it was to get off the bed. He glanced at me as he went into the bathroom. I heard water running and Luke muttering to himself but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. The water shut off and Luke came back a minute later. He crawled up beside me. Luke held something in his hand. No. Two somethings. Washcloths? Luke set one on his thigh while he folded the other. The folded one was placed on my forehead. The second one was very carefully draped over my brand. 

The washcloths were soaked with cold water that dripped onto the silk sheets beneath me. The cold wet felt so good that I went boneless, all the tension melting out of me. Luke was still a threat but I felt better. 

Luke watched me for a moment. Then he slid off the bed again and went to the mini fridge. There was a crack that sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it until I heard ice clinking in a glass. Luke rejoined me holding the glass of ice cubes. He stretched out on my right side and plucked an ice cube from the glass. For a moment he just held it in his hand. Then he put it against my skin, along the edge of the washcloth. 

I jumped in surprise. It was a lot colder than the washcloth. 

Luke used two fingers to push the ice cube along my skin, following the square of the washcloth. It sucked all of the heat from the brand. Luke went around and around and around, his cheek in his hand, apparently spacing out. 

“What are you doing?” 

“You’re too hot and you’re acting irrational. So I’m trying to cool you off,” Luke answered. The ice cube melted quickly, as though agreeing with Luke’s statement. He circled once with just his bare fingertips before starting over with another ice cube. “All I’ve got in here is ice and champagne...and I think the champagne would just bring your fever up more. And you’d get drunk after like one glass and probably get sick and go home feeling like shit.” 

The ice and the washcloths _were_ helping to bring down my temperature. “I am not irrational,” I argued. 

“You do know that you were jacking me off thirteen minutes ago?” Luke asked. 

“I didn’t forget.” Another flush of heat under my skin. 

“So you wouldn’t do that if you were using your head.” 

“How do you know?”

“Because that isn’t like you.” 

“You don’t even know me,” I said. I didn’t know why I was arguing. Luke was right; it was out of character for me to be reaching for some older boy’s dick. Or any boy’s dick. 

Luke sighed. “Based on what I _do_ know of you, you wouldn’t get handsy.” Around and around the ice cube went. My skin was steadily going numb but that was alright. It was better than the alternative. 

“Luke?”

Luke hummed. 

“Will you show me?” 

“Show you what?”

“How to kiss.” Maybe it was because I’d failed at so much in my life, because I never measured up, but I wanted to be good at _something._ Or maybe the fever was frying my brain. 

Luke didn’t falter in orbiting the ice cube. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn’t answer me. His fingers pushed the ice cube around until it was just his cold fingers on my cold skin. Then he opened his eyes. Luke gently turned my face toward him and kissed me. It was the same kind of kiss as before...until he opened his mouth and slid his tongue across my lips. 

I knew what French kissing was even though I’d never done it, so I parted my lips and shyly met his tongue with mine. 

Luke coaxed my tongue into his mouth. He rubbed his tongue against mine, then sucked. His teeth lightly scraped against my tongue. His canines were notably sharper but they didn’t break skin. 

When Luke pulled away, I gasped. My flagging erection was at full mast again. Instinctively I reached for Luke, wanting to draw him back to me. 

Luke rewarded me with another kiss. This time his tongue went into my mouth. He took the lead on this one too, the tip of his tongue tracing my teeth and the lines of my mouth. 

I did my best to keep up with what he was doing. I was too afraid to try that trick with my teeth; I didn’t think he’d like it if I bit him. The second time Luke pulled away, I whined. 

A finger beneath my chin gently closed my mouth, then Luke kissed me again. He alternated the pressures, kissing me lightly and hard. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and gently nibbled on it. Luke kissed me until my lips felt bruised and swollen. 

It was a strangely good feeling. I shook with how good I felt. My breath came in harshly. I wanted to roll over and press myself against him but he was on my right side, the burn side, and I wasn’t that irrational no matter what Luke said. 

The hand beneath my chin moved to cup my cheek. It was cold as the ice he’d been touching. Luke kissed me again, and again. He was good at kissing. Every time our lips met, I wanted just one more kiss. The glass of ice was forgotten as Luke shifted closer to me, finding a better angle to kiss me at. 

I reached for him, between his legs. I wanted to touch him again. He was still partially hard. I stroked him, but the angle was awkward. “Get on my other side so I can roll over.”

When I touched him, Luke’s breath caught. I felt the vibrations of a moan. Luke did move, but it wasn’t where I’d told him to. He rolled on top of me again, used his knee to nudge my legs apart so that he could kneel between them. “Stubborn, irrational boy,” Luke murmured against my lips. 

“That’s me,” I answered between kisses. The angle was better for jacking him off; didn’t hurt my wrist as much. I touched him how I did before, until he was making that slick wetness again. 

Luke trembled above me. I felt his knees shaking against my thighs, his arms quivering on either side of my head as he kissed me. His kissing became sloppier and sometimes he stopped entirely, like he felt too good to keep kissing me. 

I slid my hand down the front of my boxers. My own touch was electrifying. But I couldn’t focus on jacking both of us off at the same time. 

Luke noticed. Whatever hesitation he had earlier he seemed to be over. He slid my boxers down and off. Then he brought both of my feet up to his shoulder. He slotted his dick between my thighs and it rested heavy against my own. “Does that hurt?”

It did but I shook my head. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Luke. He was so handsome. The scars, I decided, didn’t really detract from how handsome he was. His size had been scary while he was holding me by the neck like a doll but now being manhandled was exciting. It didn’t make sense. 

Luke rolled his hips. His dick dragged against mine, sparking pleasure between us. He watched my face and then gave me a crooked little smile. “Feels good, huh?” And he did it again.

It did feel good, a concentrated sort of pleasure that was heightened by the fact that it was someone else creating it. I bit my lip and nodded. It felt so good that my toes splayed. I rolled my hips, trying to match his rhythm and failing. He didn’t scold me for it though. I pulled him to me, kissed him, and then whispered, “Luke, will you come with me?” Pulling Luke to me meant that I had to bend in half since my legs were still on his shoulders. Good thing I was flexible. 

“Working on it,” Luke grunted. He kissed me. His rhythm didn’t falter at all. How much experience did he have? Probably a lot. It was hard to resist Luke. 

It took a moment for me to realize that he’d misunderstood me. I cupped his face to get his attention and was pleased when his pace slowed a bit. I shook my head no. “I meant sunrise.” 

The anxiety in his features was there and gone almost before I registered it. His eyes flicked to the coffin. Then Luke kissed me. “They -” a kiss, “-have to -” another kiss “-let me.” A fourth kiss, this one hard and desperate. 

Was he talking about the gods? I dropped my hands from his face, tried to focus past the cocktail of pain and pleasure that made my head spin. Why wouldn’t they let him back? I’d brought back the master bolt and we were going to get the Golden Fleece to save Thalia. Everything Luke had done was reversible. 

Luke straightened up. He smoothed his hand down my left side, squeezed gently. “You have to deliver my message to Hermes.” His dick dripped that slick fluid onto mine and the glide got even smoother.

“I-I will,” I promised. The smooth glide of our skin made me tingly all over. I was rushing toward elation. My orgasm hit me harder than it ever had before. It felt like I was falling and flying and every nerve ending was alive. My back arched and I curled my hands into the sheets. A very, very small bit of wetness came from the slit in my dick. It looked like basically the same fluid that had come from Luke’s dick except a little more opaque. Well, that was new. I didn’t think about it too much; I was shivery and very tired. 

Luke didn’t take his eyes off me. He let our dicks slide against each other one more time before pulling back. The head of his dick pressed against my hole, not quite penetrating me but definitely putting pressure there. 

It felt better than I ever could have imagined...and I’d honestly never imagined it before. Pleasure shot through me like sparks. I got hard again almost immediately. My heart jackhammered against my chest but it was with excitement rather than fear. 

Luke applied a little more pressure, just the slightest bit. His hands spread my cheeks and he pushed even more against my hole. Suddenly he was inside of me. Not much, only the head of his dick, but boy did I feel it. 

My hole was stretched open on his dick and I could barely breathe from the shock of what was happening. It wasn’t...entirely unwelcome though. When I did breathe again, it only to moan. My dick was still rock hard and it twitched against my stomach. Luke was inside of me. My head spun. Why didn’t anyone tell me that it would feel this good? 

Luke moaned, the noise drawn out of him like he hadn’t expected it. He went still for a long moment, breathing hard and trembling. With exaggerated slowness, Luke moved one hand to his dick. He jacked himself off, hand striping his dick at a much faster pace than my hand had gone. Luke didn’t rock his hips at all, or penetrate me any deeper than the head of his dick...but I could still feel the subtle movements. When Luke reached orgasm, his dick spurted hot fluid into me. 

I whined, somewhat confused, but mostly hoping he wouldn’t just leave it there. I realized suddenly that it would take a lot of showers before I was able to wash the scent of Luke out of my skin. Someone at Camp would surely know what I’d been up to. 

Luke gently pulled out, shivering as he did. Luke carefully set my feet back onto the bed. He lowered himself between my thighs and before I could even begin to puzzle out what he was doing, he licked my hole. 

I almost sat up in shock and probably would have but the brand hurt too much for sudden movements. “Oh gods,” I breathed. Luke was licking my hole, using his tongue to scoop out the fluid from within me. I could feel his lips against me, his tongue reaching into me. My second orgasm came fast and hard. I didn’t even have to touch my dick. I moaned, arching off the bed again as pleasure coursed through my veins. 

Luke gave me a few final licks. Then he sat up and plucked the wash cloth from off my brand. It was still damp but all of the cold had been leached out of it. He used the washcloth to clean me up, then tossed it onto the floor. He took the other washcloth from off the pillow - I hadn’t even realized it fell - and used it to wipe the...whatever that white fluid was - off his face. That washcloth joined the one on the floor. Luke crawled up my body and kissed me again, a sweet kiss like the first ones we’d shared. His mouth smelled strange and tasted kind of salty. Then Luke laid down beside me, sticking to my good left side. 

Without thinking about it, I shifted so that I could tuck my head beneath his chin. “I think you were right,” I murmured. My whole body felt tingly like I’d touched an electrical socket or something.

“About what?” Luke asked. He carefully placed a hand on my ribs. His hands were large enough that he was almost but not quite touching the brand. 

“My brain is fried.” My eyes just wouldn’t stay open for anything. How long until sunrise? I still desperately wanted to leave, but now I didn’t want to leave without Luke. And wasn’t that what Hermes had sent me here for? To bring Luke home? “I’m having irrational thoughts.” 

Luke gently nuzzled the top of my head. “Happens to the best of us.” 

He would know. He was the best of us. 

“Come home with me, Luke,” I whispered, pleading. 

Luke swallowed audibly. “Not today, Percy.” 

I napped until sunrise. The room flooded with light the moment that the sun rose and startled me out of my doze. I sat bolt upright and hissed in pain as my side hurt. It was still hot and I was still blearily tired but that few hours nap did me good. 

Beside me, Luke stretched and yawned. I heard his joints cracking. When he was thoroughly stretched, he sat up and pressed his chest to my back. Not leaning on me, just touching me. “Light of day, Percy. Ready for your walk of shame?” 

“What does _that_ mean?” I asked. Where were my clothes? I had to dig through the sheets to find my boxers. 

Luke got out of bed and began to get ready for his day. “You’ll be safe from Annabeth because her sense of smell has always been shit but the Cyclops will be able to smell me on you.” 

Having my suspicions confirmed didn’t make me feel better. The idea of Tyson finding out that I’d slept with Luke...literally and figuratively...made my face warm up. I wasn’t a virgin anymore and now my half-brother would know. I found my jeans half hanging off the bed and slid them on too. 

Luke wandered over to me and kissed my shoulder before continuing on to the bathroom.

I picked my shirt up off the floor by the couch and considered putting it on...then changed my mind. My burn could barely handle open air; a shirt would just trap all the heat. I tossed the orange shirt onto the couch and looked around for my shoes. They were gone, as far as I could tell, and so was Riptide. To be fair to the sword, I hadn’t been wearing pants in a long time and it had never failed me before. So I didn’t look too hard for Riptide. 

Once I was dressed, I got the strawberries from the minifridge. I was starving. I sat on the floor and ate strawberries, watching Luke move around his room. 

Luke pulled on camouflage pants and a white tank top. He shoved his feet into boots and laced them up. Then Luke joined me on the floor. There were wrinkles on his forehead as his brow furrowed. “Percy…” 

I looked up at him, met his blue eyes. Something about the look on his face made dread curl around my spine and a stone sink in my belly. Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry anymore. My hands started to shake. 

Luke took the strawberry carton from me and set it aside, then he took both of my hands in his. “We’re still enemies in the light of day,” Luke said carefully, maintaining eye contact with me. “And it’s going to stay that way unless something happens. When we meet again, if it’s under the same circumstances, I won’t go easy on you, okay?”

I knew what he was saying, even though I didn’t like. I was probably still riding the high of losing my virginity a few hours ago...but I didn’t want things to be like this. To be honest, I never wanted things to be like this. Luke being my enemy was terrible. Let it be anyone else, but not Luke. “I understand,” I said unhappily. “I won’t go easy on you either.” 

“I should hope not.” Luke kissed me on the lips. “Get outta here, Percy,” he murmured. 

I let the kiss go on for a few long moments. Then I got to my feet and walked to the doors. They opened. I left Luke sitting there and it felt like leaving part of my heart. I’d thought I was over my feelings for Luke but they were stronger than ever. 

I found Annabeth and Tyson hiding out in a bedroom. They seemed happy that I was alive. Tyson gave me a big hug but when he let me go, he had a puzzled look on his face. Thankfully some monsters came and we had to escape, so Tyson didn’t get a chance to ask me why I smelled weird in front of Annabeth. As Luke had predicted, Annabeth didn’t smell anything strange about me. 

We stole a lifeboat to escape the Princess Andromeda and with the thermos that Hermes had given me, I got us far, far away. Riptide finally returned to my pocket. 

Luke was right. 

The next time I met him, he slashed my leg open just above the knee with Backbiter. It hurt so badly and his eyes looked cold like glaciers as he stalked me across the deck. I was reminded of the man who left a ring of bruises around my neck and branded me. The bruises had faded to a sickly yellowish-green but the brand was still there and still sore. The scar on my palm was killing me. 

I scrambled backward and wondered if he was going to kill me. It would be so easy to. Did he change his mind? Was that night a lie? 

Then Luke stilled and said something to one of the twin giants. 

The hesitation gave the party ponies enough time to burst onto the deck and rescue us. They carried us all the way back to Camp Half-Blood and I once again left Luke behind. 

“Hermes,” I said to the god. “I have a message for you from Luke.”

Hermes cocked his head. I had caught his interest. “What’s his message?”

I faced Hermes and lifted my shirt to show off the caduceus branded into my skin. 

Hermes was silent for a long time. Long enough that I got nervous. Finally he said, “I see.”

“Will you bring him home?” I asked, letting my shirt fall to cover the brand. “Please? He wants to come home.” 

Hermes cocked his head in the other direction. It occurred to me for the first time that Luke was a carbon copy of Hermes...except for his blond hair. They had the same prince curls, the same blue eyes, the same build. “Where is his home, Percy? I don’t think Luke wants to come back to Camp Half-Blood.” 

My heart twisted at that. Hermes was right. I didn’t think that Luke wanted to return to Camp Half-Blood even if he could do so safely. Where would Luke go? Where was his home? He was a year-rounder at Camp, which meant he didn’t have a family to go back to. But I couldn’t just leave him there in Kronos’ clutches. I lifted my chin and met Hermes eyes. “With me.” 

Hermes eyes darted down to my brand and then back to my face. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

A few days later, Thalia Grace came back to life and everything changed. Of course, I didn’t know it at the time. 

The first day of fall break, there was a knock on my apartment door. “Percy! Could you get that?” Mom called from the kitchen. She was doing her homework and making dinner at the same time. 

“Got it!” I called back. 

Nothing could have prepared me for seeing Luke again. He looked good, wearing form-fitting slacks and a pale blue long sleeve button up. There was a suitcase by his feet. He looked like a young businessman from Time magazine or something. 

“Percy!” Hermes said, drawing my attention to him for the first time. Compared to his son, Hermes looked like a model for an athletes magazine. He was dressed in his jogging outfit again. His shorts were a little too short and I’d hate to think of how much ass I would see if he bent over. “Is your mother home?” 

“Uh….” I said intelligently. Without taking my eyes off them, I turned my head and yelled, “Mom!” 

“Who is…. oh.” Mom recognized Hermes for what he was immediately. I wondered what she saw when she looked at the gods. Her gaze flicked between Luke and Hermes and I saw her make the familial connection. “Would you like to come in?” 

“Thank you! We would.” Hermes led the way in. He held out his hand. “I’m Hermes. This is my son, Luke.” 

Mom shook his hand. She looked at me, silently asking if I knew anything about this impromptu visit. 

I shrugged. Every single cell in my body wanted me to throw my arms around Luke’s neck. And maybe punch him in the face for the scar above my left knee. “What’s with the suitcase?” 

“It was my dad’s idea,” Luke explained. “I asked for a backpack or a duffle bag. Something practical.”

“It is practical! The straps make it double as a backpack and the wheels are for when you get tired of carrying it around.” Hermes put his hands on his hips. 

“It’s not at all practical. It’s like carrying around a box on my back. There’s no flexibility.”

“But you can sit on it.”

“I can sit anywhere. I don’t need to sit on my stuff.”

“One day you’ll appreciate my inventions.”

“I can’t even use it as a pillow.”

Hermes opened his mouth, reconsidered, and closed it. “I will give that one to you.” He wagged a finger. “But it’s still a good invention and has plenty of practical uses.” 

I had worried that they were going to start actually fighting but when it didn’t go that way, I let out a sigh of relief. This wasn’t serious fighting; it was just bickering. It was a normal level of bickering too. 

“I’m in the middle of making dinner and I don’t want it to burn,” mom said and made her way into the kitchen. 

Hermes followed her without hesitation. He waved a hand to signal that we were to stay where we were. When he spoke to my mother, it was in rapid Spanish. 

Mom answered in Spanish and they went back and forth. 

I looked at Luke again. “So,” I began. “Are we still enemies?” 

Luke shook his head. “Nope. I’m a free man.” He paused. “More or less.” That was referring to the gods owning him again but I could live with that. Better to be pawns on the same side. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck like I’d been wanting to do since I saw him. Longer than that. The scents of hot candle wax and leather and _Luke_ washed over me. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach. 

Luke wrapped his arms around me and held me close. He nuzzled my neck and breathed in my scent. “Thank you.” 

I hugged him tighter. Then let go before my mom saw us. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be happy about me and Luke. “Do you wanna watch a movie with me?”

“Sure.” Luke sat down on one end of the couch. 

I curled up beside Luke, tucked against his body. And it was good, being close to Luke again. When we were separated, it felt like something stretched taut between us. But when we were together, that something inside of me relaxed. 

“Did you talk to my dad about the brand?” Luke murmured. 

I shook my head no. “I didn’t want to risk him saying no to bringing you home.” 

Luke glanced at the entryway to the kitchen then tipped my chin up and kissed me sweetly. He met my gaze afterwards, his blue eyes gorgeous and swimming with gratitude. Even though it looked like he wanted to kiss me again, Luke turned back to the tv. 

I managed to wiggle almost into his lap; as close as I could get without being completely inappropriate. 

Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders. 

We were halfway through the movie when Hermes came out of the kitchen with two plates and two cans of coke balanced in his hands. “Dinner is ready. Not done talking yet. Just stay here and be good.” Then he hurried back into the kitchen. 

Luke and I ate and finished the movie. I put another one in and still we waited. It was comfortable together with our bellies full. We dozed, a light sleep that was broken as soon as we heard footsteps. 

Luke pulled his arm from around me and sat up. There was some anxiety in his expression. 

I sat up too, though all I wanted was to stay curled against him, and rubbed my eyes. 

Mom studied the two of us and I wasn’t sure that she liked what she saw. She would like it even less if she knew that the man beside me had taken my virginity over the summer and branded me and that those things happened on the same day. “Hermes asked me if Luke can live with us.” 

My jaw dropped. 

Hermes smiled. 

Mom nodded to herself as if that confirmed something for her. “I told him yes. On the condition that Luke get a job to help me pay the bills.” 

Luke nodded. He wrung his hands together and I realized that not only did he know about this, but that he was scared mom wouldn’t say yes. 

“And Luke is sleeping on the couch while you’re home, Percy,” Mom added. This was said with a look that told me she suspected there was something going on between us and she didn’t like it. It was hard not blaming her for trying to separate us and stop any sex from happening...but the rational part of me knew where she was coming from. Even if it was annoying. 

I wanted to whine, almost did, but stopped myself just in time. That wouldn’t help my case of being mature enough to have my boyfriend sleep in my bedroom with me. I bit my cheeks and nodded unhappily. At least Luke would be here. At least he was safe.

Luke only nodded again. This didn’t seem to surprise him. I searched his face for any sign that he regretted what we did…but there wasn’t any regret there. That pleased me. 

Luke got a job at the sweet shop that mom worked at. She was only part time now because of college - barely making twenty hours a week - so they had an opening. Like mom had before him, Luke brought me hope free samples of treats. They were always blue. Let it be known that Luke paid attention. 

He slept on the couch for the whole week of fall break. Which was annoying because every night I longed for him more than anything. I wanted Luke more than I wanted my dad’s acceptance and more than to make it through the school year without getting kicked out and more than I wanted to sleep in till noon. Before I left, we managed to get a few minutes of alone time. 

Luke cupped my face and kissed me like he was as desperate for me as I was for him. “I’ll see you in a few months.” 

“Take care of mom,” I said, because that was easier than telling him I’d miss him. 

“I will.” Then he kissed me again. When he pulled back, Luke’s pupils were dilated and held a heated promise. “Soon.” 

When I got home for winter break, Luke wasn’t there. “He’s at work, dear,” Mom said as she kissed the top of my head. I let her hug me until I had to squirm out of her grasp. It wasn’t that I didn’t love her too...I just didn’t want to be held by her anymore. Mom sighed, but in a fond way. “He’s closing tonight so he won’t get home until you’re already asleep.” 

That’s what she thought. Now that I was home, there was no way that I was going to be able to sleep without seeing Luke. I ate dinner and helped mom clean up, then took a shower and watched a movie with her. Mom got me caught up on her life, including telling me about a new man she’d met at college. His name was Paul. 

When I finally said good night and slipped into my room, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. It was like a fever had overtaken me and I kept tossing and turning in bed. Luke had promised soon. It hadn’t felt like soon but this was the soonest that I could see him again and the promise had kept me wanting for the long weeks I was away. Now I was home, in my bed that smelled like Luke since this was where he slept while I was gone. 

My pillow smelled like Luke. My sheets smelled like Luke. Luke’s clothes were in my drawers and his stuff was mingled with mine. I was rock hard in seconds, cock stiffening. Not once did it cross my mind that Luke wouldn’t come in and say hello to me, but I needed to take the edge off. 

The pillow we shared found its way between my legs and I rolled my hips. Wrong angle. Needed something a little bit harder than the soft pillow. If I rode it, though, that was good. Wedged between my body and the mattress, it firmed up enough to actually feel good. Even before I humped it in earnest, my breathing turned to heavy panting. I humped it, pretending that it was Luke. Which part of Luke exactly kept shifting as I thought of his body beneath me and his skin against mine and which parts would feel best. 

I could hump his leg like a dog. I could rub against the joint of his hip. I could thrust against his stomach. I could fuck his thighs like he’d done to me. Oh, that one was good, the thought sent a spiral of pleasure through me. 

Mom had gone to bed too but I still tried to be quiet. Quiet was good; it reminded me of how quiet Luke and I had been when he’d taken my virginity. 

I wanted him inside of me again. Gods, if only there was something I could fuck myself with while I humped the pillow. 

I was so lost in my rutting that I didn’t hear the window of the fire escape slide open. I wouldn’t have heard Luke’s footsteps anyway because he was noiseless...but I should have heard the window because it always creaks. Luke’s hand threaded through my hair and he pulled my head back. His hand was over my mouth before the yelp of surprise even left my throat. “You couldn’t even wait for me, puppy?” 

Luke’s voice was low and sexy and that combined with him pulling my hair was just the right thing because I came all over the pillow. My face warmed as a feeling like humiliation or shame burned within me. Was that really all it took for me to cum? 

With his hand still keeping my head tipped back, Luke kissed me. It was a hungry kiss, made more so by his sharp teeth in my lip and the vibrations of a growl in his throat. His other hand worked open his slacks and shoved them - and his underwear - down to his knees. Against my lips, Luke murmured, “I’ve been waiting for you all day, puppy.” 

My heart raced with excitement. I just came but I was so turned on that I wanted him. I kissed him back eagerly, licking his lips so that he would let me taste him. 

Luke opened his mouth, let me shove my tongue past his lips. He slotted himself against my back, cock hard between my cheeks. He still wore his uniform shirt, smelling of candy along with the usual hot candle wax and leather scents. “How should I punish you?” 

I whined, long and high. I couldn’t help it. I wanted him so bad. “Luke, take me like you did last time. Please. I want - I want -”

Luke cut me off with a tender kiss. “Shhh...I’ll take care of you.” He was more prepared this time. A tiny packet of single use lube was ripped open and spread on the head of his cock. Luke guided the head of his cock to my hole and began that barely rocking motion again, easing himself into me. It was easier with actual lube, Luke slid into me quicker. 

I clamped my hands over my mouth to muffle my moan. It felt as good as before; the stretch, the way my nerves lit up. My legs shook with pleasure. It was only minutes but I was hard again, cock stiffening between my legs and dripping clear precum. 

Luke didn’t stop his rocking. He didn’t get much deeper than the head - just a little bit - and he never fully pulled out. It was gentle and not too much but just enough. He wrapped one arm around me to hold me to him and threaded the other one through the hair at the back of my head, tugging my head back again. “Percy, puppy, if I put my hand around your throat, are you gonna be okay?” 

I made an unintelligent noise. 

“It won’t hurt. I won’t hurt you again,” Luke promised. 

“O-okay,” I agreed. My heart skipped a beat. 

Luke must have felt how tense I’d become because he ducked his head to kiss my neck. He let go of my hair and placed his hand over my throat. There was almost no pressure. “Okay?”

I nodded. My heart beat fast. My attention was fairly evenly split between the hand on my throat and Luke’s cock inside of me. My heart didn’t think that Luke would revert back to Kronos’ side by trying to kill me again, but try telling that to a paranoid mind. 

Luke squeezed my throat just a little bit. Nothing like before. There wouldn’t even be a red mark. He slid his other hand down to my cock and stroked it. “Good boy, puppy.” He murmured against the shell of my ear. Luke placed small kisses and nips, further distracting me. 

I whined, short and soft. My fingers curled around Luke’s wrists. I didn’t pull him away. Instead, I held on and bounced on his cock. Small movements, barely more than what he was doing. But through our combined efforts, Luke slipped into me an inch past the head. I bit my tongue so that I didn’t moan aloud. 

Luke pressed his lips against my neck and I felt his moan rather than heard it. He was gentle with me as we moved together. 

The bed barely even moved, mattress quiet as though it knew we had to be secretive. Luke was nothing but perfect and I couldn’t hold his lapse in judgement against him. Not when he’d been manipulated. I could forgive him, could think of the moment with the pit scorpion and not feel it’s sting. 

I turned my face for a kiss, brushed my lips against his. The reality stared me in the face. There was no one else, it had always been Luke. We were bound together by fate. And being with him made me so happy. I couldn’t remember ever caring for someone so much. “I love you,” I admitted, voice breaking with emotion. 

“I know,” Luke said, warmth in his voice. “I love you too.” 

While Luke and I were having sex in my childhood bedroom, the wheels of fate kept turning. Because Fate demands sacrifice. 

The boy who took Luke’s place as the hero of the prophecy was called Ethan Nakamura. He was a son of Nemesis, and only had one eye. I didn’t find out until later that he’d stepped into Luke’s place because his mother had taken his eye as a preemptive measure that supposedly guaranteed that Ethan would restore balance. 

Luke didn’t say anything outright but I knew that he thought balance was subjective. His war against the gods was over...for the moment. 

Ethan wasn’t even from Camp Half-Blood. He was just a demigod out in the world trying to survive. They found him coming out of the Labyrinth and Kronos didn’t hesitate to snatch him up. Ethan bathed in the River Styx to gain invulnerability. 

Thalia Grace turned sixteen the night that Luke came home to me. She and Ethan fought...and Thalia gave him a blade to kill himself with. 

Ethan reaped his own soul, and sent Kronos scattering to the winds. Hermes told us that Ethan had a place in Elysium for his heroic sacrifice. 

Thalia was offered immortality in the form of goddesshood. She took it without hesitation and became the new goddess of the Wild. Thalia was not passive like the Pan who passed away...where she went, she made her own Wild. Greenery sprang up to destroy human creations and humans themselves turned into animals. It was chaos. But at least she left demigods alone. 

Annabeth became a Hunter of Artemis, claiming her own immortality by becoming Artemis’ lieutenant. Apparently the Hunters of Artemis were mostly lesbians and asexuals because no one batted an eye when Annabeth lost her maidenhood to Thalia. 

Luke and I were shaken up by what we narrowly avoided. But we still had to steal our moments together whenever we could get out of my mom’s watchful eye. Luke went to a local college, just for fun. I finished high school. 

The second I turned eighteen, Luke proposed. 

I said yes. On one condition. I wanted to brand him. It was only fair. Whenever people saw my brand - which wasn’t very often because I hid it as much as possible - they always thought that I was an owned creature. If I was owned by Luke, then Luke was owned by me. 

Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest thing ever. 

But Luke agreed and I got together everything I would need to brand my fiancé. Now he bears a trident scar on the right side of his lower back. He wears a band of gold on his left ring finger. And so do I.

**Author's Note:**

> Luke saying that Percy will be a man in two years (at 15) is a reference to what Poseidon tells Percy when he turns 15, saying that he's a man now. I think that after spending half his life with the gods, some of their old ways would rub off on Luke. And Luke comparing Percy to Poseidon is just a nod at how fast and loose with consent that Poseidon is.
> 
> “Por todos los dioses, matame antes de me venga" means "By all the gods, kill me before I come."


End file.
